Board of Selectmen: Town seeks to buy St. Agnes School, use it for full-time Kindergarten

Wednesday

Apr 24, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 24, 2013 at 1:36 PM

Seeking a cost-efficient solution for crowding in the town’s elementary schools, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee plan to buy the building that once housed the St. Agnes School from the parish in order to use it for full-time kindergarten.

Steven Ryan

Seeking a cost-efficient solution for crowding in the town’s elementary schools, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee plan to buy the building that once housed the St. Agnes School from the parish in order to use it for full-time kindergarten.

The Board of Selectmen and School Committee held a joint meeting on April 23 to approve a Letter of Intent to purchase the property, which is located at 172A Woburn St. According to the letter, the town would purchase the property from the Archdiocese of Boston for $1.4 million.

“We looked at available options for space; the best option from both a town and educational perspective was to look at an existing building and renovate,” said Superintendent John Doherty, noting how programming changes have resulted in less space in the town’s elementary school buildings.

Both the town and the Archdiocese would enter into a purchase and sale agreement if the town is able to secure funding for the purchase at both Town Meeting in September and at the ballot box. The project must receive approval from voters in a special election likely to be held in September or October. The anticipated closing date for the sale is Nov. 1, 2013.

Another challenge is making sure the property has enough parking spaces for its anticipated use as a full-time kindergarten. In the transfer of property, the school building would 16 parking spaces, from 61 to 45. It is up to the town’s “Zoning Officer” to determine if the number of spaces is sufficient for the intended new use.

“I think it’s a creative solution,” said School Committee Member Bob Spadafora. “It’s a cheaper solution than a new school. It’s also addressing an area of town that is overcrowded.

Spadafora noted this option would bypass what he feels is the undesired consequences of reinstating the use of trailers to accommodate the needed extra classroom space.

“And finally, no trailers,” he said. “We keep them out of here many years ago and I don’t want them back.”

Selectman John Arena did caution both boards of the need to be as transparent as possible about the costs associated with the property purchase, noting the public needs a firm understanding of not just the purchase cost but also of the operational costs involved with the transaction.

“Voters’ primary concern is the total cost that hits the pocket book,” he said. “What’s the total cost of ownership of the property?”

The Letter of Intent met with unanimous approval from both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.

According to the St. Agnes Parish website (www.stagnesreading.org), the school formerly located at the property was closed in 1970 due to a lack of Sisters or nuns to staff the school, forcing the school to hire more lay teachers, which resulted in increased tuition and decreased enrollment. Eventually, the setup was no longer financially viable.

Reading public schools have previous experience using the property to alleviate crowding. When the school closed in 1970, the town rented the property until 1980 when the school population dropped significantly. In 1982, the parish leased the property the Reading Gymnastics Academy, which still operates at the location. The academy’s lease will run out in the summer.

Water and sewer rates

At its April 23 meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted to increase the water rate by 2.3 percent and the sewer rate by 5.9 percent for a combined rate increase of 4.2 percent in fiscal 2014.

This represents a more modest increase than the current fiscal year, which had seen a combined increase of 11.4 percent in the water/sewer rate.

Post Office sale follow-up

The Board of Selectmen approved a letter to be sent to the U.S. Postal Service to express its desire that the Postal Service’s retail operations remain in the downtown and, if possible, at the Reading Post Office

“It is not going to be on Haven Street because that is the most expensive place you can keep it,” said Selectman Ben Tafoya. “I am concerned about the change of character of that building having an impact on the downtown area.”

The letter also asked for the current parking supply at the Reading Post Office be preserved and that it should be a consideration when evaluating proposals for the site.

Lothrop Road sale

At its April 23 meeting, the Board of Selectmen also approved the sale of the property at 50 Lothrop Rd. to David Chuha of Chuha Construction Company for $305,000, about $50,000 more than the minimum bid in its Request for Proposals.

Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner noted Chuha lives in Reading and has been in business for about 26 years.